Boys’ hockey: Biddeford beats Cheverus in 2OT in A South final

LEWISTON — Colin Petit scored the game-winner with 1:35 left in double overtime to give Biddeford a 6-5 victory over Cheverus in the Class A South boys’ hockey regional final Tuesday at Androscoggin Bank Colisee.

Petit put a shot from the slot past Cheverus goalie Jason Halverson. Older cousin Curtis Petit had the assist.

“Just get it on net. You know, good things happen when you get pucks to the net and I just got it by him somehow,” Colin Petit said. “It feels amazing. I’ve been dreaming since I was a kid, watching Brian Dumoulin and all them play. It’s just surreal right now.”

The Tigers now advance to their first state final since winning their third title in four years in 2010.

The third-seeded Tigers (15-6) came out firing, but many of their first shots missed, then Cheverus goalie Jason Halverson turned away the four that made it to him in the first period. The top-seeded Stags (14-5-1) offense finally came alive during a power play midway through the first, but Biddeford goalie Owen Sullivan made seven saves of his own, sending the game to the first intermission scoreless.

The Stags started the second with time remaining on a second power play, but couldn’t muster any scoring opportunities.

Biddeford got its first chance on the power play soon after and took advantage of it, thanks to a friendly bounce. Liam Turner’s shot from the point re-directed off Ian Couture in the slot and through the legs of Halverson for a 1-0 Tigers lead 2:45 into the period.

The third power play was the charm for Cheverus. Sullivan was able to make a pair of saves, the rebound of the second shot went right to Colby Anton in the slot, and Anton didn’t miss on his open opportunity to tie the game 6:27 into the second.

The Tigers soon regained their lead, however. Couture’s shot from the left circle just over two minutes later trickled under Halverson’s legs and slowly across the goal line.

The Stags struck again on the power play late in the period. Marco Giancotti, whose shot had earlier set up Anton’s goal, sent another shot from the point toward the net. It didn’t get through, but Sullivan’s reaction to the shot opened up the goal and Justin Ray put the loose puck in to tie the game 2-2 with less than two minutes remaining in the second.

“I told them I’m real proud of them,” Cheverus coach Dan Lucas said. “They hung in there.”

Couture completed a hat trick to give Biddeford a 3-2 lead two minutes into the third, but that was just the start of hectic final period of regulation.

Jackson Wilson tied it with seven minutes left, only for Nick McSorley to re-gain the Tigers’ lead less than a minute later. Cam Dube scored a pair of goals in the final five minutes to give the Stags their first lead, but Trevor Ouellette sent the game to overtime with the game-tying goal with 31.9 seconds left in regulation and Sullivan pulled.

“We had just practiced yesterday the 6-on-5, at the end of practice, and we actually scored on the same type of play,” Biddeford coach Jason Tremblay said. “You know, you can’t practice enough game-like situations right now.”

“The first thing we told them (after Dube scored) was it was going to be a 6-on-5,” Lucas said. “We knew they were going to get it deep and they were going to crowd the net, and that’s what happened. The puck went off the leg, it hit the guy in the chest and went in the goal. But they all count. It’s the way the puck bounces.”

The Tigers took the majority of the on-goal shots during the first overtime, including one by Ouellette just nine seconds in and another by Couture just over a minute later, but nothing got past Halverson or Sullivan, and the game wore on into another eight-minute extra session.

“After we tied that game, I think Cheverus had an uphill battle,” Tremblay said. “I just feel like momentum swung, and you could see that they were starting to get tired, their defense.”

The shot disparity continued into the second overtime, with Petit’s game-winner on the Tigers’ seventh shot on goal equaling their total from the first extra session.

“The last (overtime) they were pushing pretty good. I think a little bit of fatigue might have got in,” Lucas said. “The kid made a great pass to the kid in the slot, and it was a great shot that won the game.

“It was really nice to see that it was a great goal that won the game.”

“Colin’s very effective in that situation, scores a lot of goals off the rush,” Tremblay said. “We talked about trying to get it to the upper third on Halverson, which is exactly what he did.”

Sullivan stopped 31 of 36 shots, while Halverson, in his final high-school game, made 29 saves.

“It was one of the best high-school games I’ve ever been a part of,” Tremblay said.

wkramlich@sunjournal.com

Biddeford celebrates their 6-5 double overtime win against Cheverus in Lewiston on Tuesday. (Daryn Slover/Sun Journal)

Justin Ray of Cheverus skates the puck between Trenton Ouellette, left, and Ian Couture of Biddeford during the Class A regional final in Lewiston on Tuesday. (Daryn Slover/Sun Journal)

Ian Couture, center, of Biddeford celebrates after scoring his second goal of the game to put the Tigers up 2-1 against Cheverus in Lewiston on Tuesday. (Daryn Slover/Sun Journal)

Justin Ray of Cheverus celebrates his second period goal in front of the Biddeford student section in Lewiston on Tuesday. Ray’s goal tied the game at 2. (Daryn Slover/Sun Journal)